Save on School Supplies with Reward Programs at Office Max, Office Depot and Staples

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Mara Strom

Believe it or not, today marks the start of Back to School sales at all the office supply stores. Every Sunday, I’ll be sharing the best of these deals here on KOAB.

But before we get to that, I wanted to reshare this post about reward programs at Office Max, Office Depot and Staples.

All three stores have different reward programs, which pay you money back for purchasing special sale items. Below is a rundown on how each of these individual programs work, along with a link to sign up.

Office Max – Max Perks Rewards

Many weeks, Office Max puts special items on sale with MaxPerks rewards. For example, mechanical pencils might be $1.50 with $1.50 in Max Perks rewards.

You would spend $1.50 out of your pocket, but then get back $1.50 on Max Perks rewards – essentially making the pencils free. This program is very similar to Extra Care Bucks at CVS or Register Rewards at Walgreens.

However, unlike at the drug stores, where you will get your rewards immediately, Max Perks take about 45 days to show up on your statement – and you then have 90 days to use them from the date of issue. Max Perks Rewards can be used on anything other than gift cards at any brick and more Office Max store, or online.

Also like ECBs, you can “roll” the Rewards to purchase more items which earn Rewards. So once your initial out of pocket, you should be able to keep the spending of actual money to a bare minimum.

To “spend” your rewards, just log into your MaxPerks Rewards account and print them out to bring in with you. (One day, they’ll have an app for this, but right now, you have to print out an actual copy of your reward statement.)

Staples

The Staples Rewards program is very similar to Office Depot. Rewards are earned quarterly, and are paid out the month after the end of the quarter, as long as you have $10 in your account. Like Office Max and Office Depot, rewards from Staples must be spent at Staples only.

In addition to weekly sale items that have Staples Rewards attached to them, you can also earn rewards for:

$2 back when you recycle ANY ink or toner cartridge — up to 10 per calendar month, per customer.

In addition to rewards, Staples also often has items on sale that are FREE AFTER EASY REBATE (“FAR”). With FAR sales, you get paid back by check – and you don’t have to wait until the end of the quarter to receive it.

This week, for example, Staples has BIC mechanical pencils on sale for $4.29 with a $4.29 easy rebate. Buy the pencils, submit your purchase online and within a few weeks, you will get a check for $4.29. Deposit the check right into your bank account – and spend it however you like!